Grant Labor Standards

BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT LABOR STANDARDS

Table of Contents

Introduction

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Prospective Subgrantee Scored Labor Requirements

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Additional Labor Requirements

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Recommended Labor Practices

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Introduction The Broadband Infrastructure Grant (BIG), funded through the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, improves access to reliable broadband for all unserved areas of Utah. The Utah Broadband Center (UBC) administers these funds through a competitive grant process.

Eligible applicants must adhere to all grant requirements to receive grant funds.

These requirements cover various topics, from permitting and environmental reviews to letters of credit or performance bonds.

Labor Standards This resource provides detailed information regarding the labor standard requirements for BIG subgrantees, including the elements of labor standards that are required for all applicants and those that are recommended but not required.

For additional information regarding the BIG grant process, please review Utah’s approved Initial Proposal Vol Il, which outlines the grant administration in detail.

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Prospective Subgrantee Scored Labor Requirements All prospective subgrantees must submit the following information in their final BIG grant applications. This information will be scored on the applicant’s adherence to fair labor practices. Please review the BIG Scoring information resource to learn how fair labor practices will be scored.

Applicant’s record of past compliance with federal labor and employment laws This record must include the following information: The applicant’s compliance with federal labor and employment laws regarding broadband deployment projects in the last three years A certification from an Officer/Director-level employee (or equivalent) confirming the applicant’s consistent compliance with federal labor and employment laws, including for all contractors and subcontractors Written disclosure of any instances in the past three years where the applicant, its contractors, or its subcontractors were found to have violated laws such as the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), or other applicable labor and employment laws

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Prospective Subgrantee Scored Labor Requirements Applicant’s plans for future compliance with federal labor and employment laws These plans must include the following information: Strategies to maintain compliance in the applicant’s operations and the operations of its contractors and subcontractors Wage and overtime payment practices, including applicable wage scales for each class of employees directly involved in broadband network construction Implementing workplace safety committees authorized to raise health and safety concerns related to the delivery of broadband deployment projects Failure to provide the required certifications, confirmations, and/or binding commitments will make the grant application ineligible for funding.

New entrants New entrants to the broadband or telecommunications field without a three-year record of federal labor and employment law compliance must submit binding legal commitments to strong labor employment standards and protections for BIG-funded projects.

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Additional Labor Requirements This information will not be scored but evaluated to ensure that all those employed to deploy BIG projects have received adequate training Evidence of skilled and credentialed workforce The project workforce plan must address each of the following elements: Strategies will be used to ensure that an appropriately skilled workforce aligns with the project’s requirements and industry norms. The following may be included: Collaborations with registered apprenticeship programs, institutions offering relevant certifications, or other joint labor-management training endeavors designed to benefit all workers Specific training programs administered by the subgrantee or by a different organization, partnerships, or initiatives will be implemented to guarantee a skilled workforce Ensure the project workforce will have appropriate credentials (such as appropriate and relevant pre-existing occupational training, certification, and licensure) Guarantee the project workforce holds the requisite qualifications, including existing occupational training, certification programs, and licensing programs pertinent to the project Support is provided to workers needing to obtain particular certifications or licenses mandated by the project

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Additional Labor Requirements A statement affirming whether or not the workforce is unionized. While UBC does not require applicants to utilize a unionized workforce, applicants must state whether or not they will be using a unionized workforce for the proposed project If the project workforce or any subgrantee’s, contractor’s, or subcontractor’s workforce is not unionized, the subgrantee must also provide: Job titles Size of the workforce Full-time contractors and subcontractors The entity that will employ each portion of the workforce Description of safety training, certification, and/or licensure requirements (e.g., OSHA 10, OSHA 30, confined space, traffic control, or other training relevant to job title and work), including robust in-house training programs with established requirements tied to certifications and titles for each position If additional training is needed to complete the proposed project, the applicant should describe the specific training needs and resources that could be utilized to provide such training, along with a timeline demonstrating that such training will be completed before project construction Information on the professional certifications and/or in-house training in place to ensure that deployment is done at a high standard

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Additional Labor Requirements A statement affirming whether the workforce will be directly employed or subcontracted.

If the proposed project workforce will utilize both directly employed workers and subcontracted workers, the plan should specify: Which elements of the project will be performed by directly employed workers, and which elements will be performed by subcontracted workers A description of the entities that the applicant plans to contract and subcontract The entities’ name and business license information and any contractors and/or subcontractors performing work on the proposed project If the contracted entities have not yet been identified, the applicant must include a detailed and competitive procurement policy that will be used to select them If the applicant has already submitted a competitive procurement policy in the pre-application, a statement should be included in the project workforce plan

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Recommended Labor Practices Using a directly employed workforce, as opposed to a subcontracted workforce Paying county prevailing wages and benefits to workers, including compliance with Davis-Bacon and Related Acts requirements, where applicable Using project labor agreements (i.e., pre-hire collective bargaining agreements between unions and contractors that govern employment terms and conditions for all workers on a construction project) Using local hire provisions Committing to union neutrality Using labor peace agreements Taking steps to prevent worker misclassification UBC will not award BIG funding to applicants who fail to meet the minimum requirements to establish a skilled, diverse, and accredited workforce.

Additional technical assistance Additional technical assistance regarding labor standards and other grant requirements will be provided during the BIG application period through weekly office hours, recorded webinars, and updated Frequently Asked Questions resources.

Please contact connectingutah@utah.gov for additional information or support.

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